Mommy Life

February 25, 2008 10:53 PM

Montessori Mondays

I've been receiving pictures from some of you who've read Mommy, Teach Me! and/or Mommy, Teach Me to Read! and instituted some of my ideas for Montessori at home.

Here are some cute pictures of Amy's son using the Sound Canisters - a sensorial exercise which increases hearing discernment. I suggested using film cannisters filled with different substances (of course, film canisters aren't that plentiful anymore, but you can use anything opaque:

Here is the exercise - taken from Mommy, Teach Me!

Sound Canisters

Materials in Basket
Five pairs of opaque cylindrical containers (35 mm film canisters work well): two each half full of salt, dried beans, pennies, rice, water. Using sticker dots or acrylic paints, color code one of each pair with one color, the other with another color.

Setup
Remove canisters from basket, placing all of one color in row on left, all of other color in row on right.

Presentation
Pick up one canister from left row with left thumb on bottom and fingers on top. Do not surround canister with hand as that will muffle the sound.
Shake by your left ear. Shake by child’s ear.
While maintaining canister in left hand, pick up one from right row in same manner with right thumb and fingers.
One at a time, shake left canister by left ear, right canister by right ear.
Shake each by child’s ears, one at a time.
If match is obtained, place two matching canisters in a pair off to the side.
If not, maintaining left canister, set down right one and pick up new one.
Shake each in the same manner, one at a time by your ears and by the child’s ears.
Continue until all matches are found.
Mix up canisters and invite child to match.
Stay with child through matching process, reminding him, when needed, of proper technique.

Conclusion
Return items to basket.
Return basket to shelf.

Emphasis
Holding canisters correctly so the sound is clear.

Foundational Value
Sound discrimination
Development of concentration

Remarks
This is a fairly complex sequence. The child’s success is dependent on his ability to carry through exact actions, such as holding the canisters properly and shaking them by one ear at a time. You may need to point out that if he holds them improperly or shakes them simultaneously, he cannot hear their individual sounds.

Age Range
Three and a half to six years

I can't tell you how rewarding it is to see pictures of children doing exercises their moms learned from my books! And I think they could inspire other moms to try some new things too. One thing to remember if it seems daunting to change the way you do things at home with your children is that you start with one thing. And when you have time, you do another. No pressure, no guilt - just changing things a little at a time.

My idea is that on Mondays I will especially focus on Montessori at Home, highlighting pictures and insights from my readers. If you have put into practice anything that you learned from my books, send me a picture and/or whatever you'd like to share about what a difference Montessori has made in your home.

Or if you have your own blog, please blog it and link through Mr. Linky!

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Love,

Posted in Homeschooling, Montessori Mondays, Mothering, Preschoolers, Toddlers | Permalink

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Comments

Oh, Barbara, you should make this a meme! That would be so awesome. You could include a Mr. Linky on your posts so that people can leave links to their posts about how they have used Montessori in their homes!

Posted by: Michelle Potter | February 25, 2008 4:00 PM

Most photo processing places will give you empty film cannisters. I went to WalMart's One-Hour place and asked for them...they gave me as many as I wanted!

Posted by: Amy K. | February 27, 2008 5:31 PM

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